We learn things on the golf course that help prepare us in business and life. Golf is a wonderful bridge. Listen to Clare today and not only improve your outlook but you might find something that you can apply to help your golf game. These principles transcend disciplines.Please use one of these links to listen http://www.allbusinessmediafm.com/studio3 or https://tunein.com/radio/All-Business-Elite-s297288/Visit Clare at her beautiful office in downtown Hollywood 1940 Harrison St, Suite 307, Hollywood, Fl 33020 (786) 200-2996

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you put all your management and staff in the same room and asked them to play Monopoly against each other? If you think it would be like putting Habanero chillies and Wasabi into a blender and garnishing it with dynamite – you’d be right!

Led by Clare Merlo of Merlo Coaching, the management and staff of SherlockTech were locked in the back room of a North Miami Beach restaurant to face off against each other in a few rounds of the thought provoking coaching game FreshBiz. “As our team continues to grow we are always on the lookout for alternative ‘Team Building’ activities–we chose to book a Game-based workshop led by Clare.” said Alex Funkhouser, President SherlockTech.

The FreshBiz game is a great tool for developing and highlighting entrepreneurial thinking. S. Earle E2Marketing

Clare Merlo focuses on leading game-base workshops and on coaching professionals who want to take more control of their careers. If you would like to organize an gamification event with Clare for your Company or User Group you can reach her at Clare@MerloCoaching.com | 786-200-2996 | www.MERLOcoaching.com

Join Us Jan 23 Play to Win! The New Entrepreneurial You You are invited to experience a fun and dynamic mini-workshop that sharpens your entrepreneurial skills. Play the FreshBiz Game at ITWomen's first program for the new year! Meet us at 5:30 pm Thursday, Jan. 23, in Sunrise, Florida at Cross Country Home Services, our host sponsor. REGISTER HERE.

Certified Leadership Coach Clare Merlo will lead the mini-workshop. Top companies such as Google, HP, IBM, and entrepreneurs and universities worldwide benefit from the experiential and playful style of FreshBiz to sharpen entrepreneurial tools and fuel creative inspiration.

According to Brian Burke* of Gartner, Inc., when designed correctly, gamification has proven to be very successful in engaging people and motivating them to change behaviors, develop skills or solve problems. Leveraging some of the features used in real games, gamification can turn many other types of activities into games.

Gamification is currently being used at the following companies: Nike built the Nike+ platform to engage fitness enthusiasts to take their workouts to the next level. Khan Academy uses gamification to enhance the learning experience for students. Quirky uses gamification to crowdsource ideas from inventors for product development. FreshBizworkshops however are different, they operate at a different level. Playing an actual game, participants begin to understand how they operate, how they show up in their everyday lives. Through this realization, change can occur. People start to think more broadly, taking advantages of their opportunities in an experiential, positive way.

My WITI Experience . . . One of the amazing things I learned from Kelly Boyle, Financial Advisor & Lesley Frohman, Sherlock Technology, organizers of the recent ‘Shift your career into High Gear’ networking event, about Women in Technology International (WITI) is that the #1 entry in the WITI Code of Ethics and Philosophy is their policy, No one stands alone. How often have you been at a networking event, unsure of what to do next? OK, you say to yourself, that woman is not speaking with anyone; should I go up to her and introduce myself? That guy looks interesting, but maybe he is waiting for a friend and wouldn’t want to speak with me. How often do we let this self talk get in the way? In the past, I have fallen into this trap. Shyness, insecurity, whatever the reason, knowing this simple statement, ‘No on stands alone’ is at the core of WITI, I observed that everyone at the networking event, even me, felt free, without awkwardness, to go up to anyone in the crowd and introduce themselves. That was a great feeling of freedom and inclusion for me and other attendees and made us want to participate regularly in WITI events.

Are you a part of a group that practices inclusion or other wonderful ideas? Please share

What a wonderful event at Women in Technology International (WITI): fun, relaxed atmosphere, informative panelists, great location, Peak10, and fabulous sponsors, AppleOne. As the panel moderator, I learned a great deal from the facial expressions I observed from the audience and comments I received from attendees, it seemed that everyone enjoyed the dialogue and took home a few nuggets that they can apply to their own careers. The articulate responses to questions by our panelists, Stephanie Sylvestre of OPC, Michelle Nason of Citrix &Beth Morgan of Verizon-Terremark demonstrated and reinforced that effective communication is key to being an effective leader.

Stephanie engages the power of love in her management style, loving her team members and her job in equal measure. She was encouraged early on by her father to be a leader, believes that generational differences in the workplace are a made up problem, and is convinced that finding a mentor you trust and especially mentoring others is the key to becoming a successful leader.

Michelle considers listening to be a key to effective management and she likes to engage her team in fun activities to help relieve the stresses of work and to set the stage for a collaborative environment. She has been greatly influenced by her children to lead a more balanced life. Her son asked her why she and dad were always working. This made her ask herself, why am I working at home when I should be interacting with my children? So she made a decision to put away the computer and phone and spend more quality time with her family.

Giving back to her community, mentoring, and making connections between colleagues are ways that Bethmakes a difference. One of the biggest challenges that she has faced in her career has been the adjustment from an entrepreneurial to a larger more structured work environment. Coaching herself and her team to make the adjustment has been a challenge, but well worth learning how to navigate effectively in a new culture.

All of the panelists agreed that the best employees are honest with a high degree of integrity. They described the qualities of a top notch team as: Competent, Compassionate, Confident, and Customer focused. Most importantly, trust between managers and their teams is the glue that keeps everyone in sync.

My personal take-aways / action steps:1) Seek out a new mentor and mentee.2) Focus on being a more effective listener. 3) Help my clients learn how to communicate more effectively in the workplace . . . to further their careers

What did you take away from the event?Are you challenging yourself to take action?Please post and let the panelists know how they have helped to shape and improve your career!Clare